While certainly disappointing, the Seahawks' loss to the 49ers in San Francisco on Sunday doesn't exactly mean that much for Seattle's season. The Hawks dropped to 11-2, but still have a two-game lead over S.F. in the division and are two wins away (with three games left in the regular season) from clinching the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed, and with it home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Fans and members of the sports media alike seemed uncharacteristically level-headed about Sunday's loss. After all, the Seahawks barely lost a game at Candlestick Park in which they didn't look particularly sharp. A few flags thrown in the other direction, and Seattle could have easily left the Bay Area as winners. But enough of that ... click through the gallery for a selection of what people are saying after the Seahawks' second loss of the season on Sunday.

What people are saying after Seahawks' loss to 49ers... Photo-5576961.75748 - seattlepi.com

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ESPN's Matt Williamson

Well, there you have it -- ESPN's Matt Williamson wrote Sunday evening that the Seahawks are still the best team in the NFL. "There is nothing I saw Sunday that suggests that the Seahawks shouldn't be a substantial favorite in any postseason game they host," Williamson wrote. "Seattle is still the best team in the league, even after Sunday's loss."

ESPN's Matt Williamson Well, there you have it --... Photo-5576962.75748 - seattlepi.com

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Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter

Likewise, Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Seahawks are still in great position for the playoffs, but that their loss Sunday provided a humbling reminder that Seattle is not a super-team. "If victory provides momentum, then defeat sharpens focus," Trotter wrote. "That theme was echoed by Seahawks defenders in the game's aftermath. They had played well by most standards, but not their own."

In his wrap-up of Sunday's game, columnist Art Thiel of SportspressNW (and formerly of the Seattle P-I) wrote that the Seahawks defeated themselves just as much -- if not more -- than the 49ers beat them. "The Niners made fewer mistakes in a game they had to have," Thiel wrote. "And once the 49ers front office provided a script for fans on what to wear and how to (mis)behave, the Niners turned it into their fifth win in a row over Seattle at the 'Stick."

Art Thiel of SportspressNW In his wrap-up of Sunday's... Photo-5576964.75748 - seattlepi.com

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Taboola Gallery Frame Item-85307.75748 - seattlepi.com

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ESPN's 'Pardon the Interruption'

On ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" TV show, hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon discussed what the loss really means for the Seahawks -- and what the win means for the 49ers. "If I'm Seattle, I'm thinking: 'Really? That? You're gonna call that a (statement) win?" Kornheiser said. "I think both teams walked out of there feeling better than they might have the day before."

ESPN.com's Seahawks beat writer, Terry Blount, declared that "the best team lost" on Sunday. "The San Francisco 49ers got it done, winning 19-17 over the Seattle Seahawks in archaic Candlestick Park," Blount wrote. "If you think it made a statement or caused the Seahawks to shiver with fear, think again."

In Pro Football Focus' weekly statistical analysis of the Seahawks, Steve Palazzolo wrote that Sunday's game said more about the 49ers getting on a roll than it did about the Seahawks losing momentum. "When the Seattle Seahawks dominated the New Orleans Saints at home last Monday night, most analysts placed them atop their all-important power rankings and all but punched their ticket to New Jersey for the Super Bowl," Palazzolo wrote. "While (the Seahawks are) still the favorite, and they're likely to have home-field advantage where they play at an entirely different level, the San Francisco 49ers have started to find their groove in recent weeks."

Writing for Field Gulls, the Seahawks blog on SB Nation, blogger Kenneth Arthur illustrated just how little Sunday's game mattered to Seattle's overall season by referencing horror movies that weren't exactly horrifying. "It was over and I was already thinking about the movie I was going to watch, the snack I was going to eat, and trying to calculate how many more days of work until Christmas Eve (11)," Arthur wrote. "It's not as though I thought that Seattle was going to lose, but it's more like I had no expectations that they were going to win. The 49ers are a great football team, were at home, and had more to play for."

Surprise, surprise -- NFL.com latched on to Richard Sherman's postgame comments in which he blamed questionable officiating for Seattle's loss. "Surprise surprise. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman had his own take on the team's 19-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday," NFL.com's Kevin Patra wrote. "In truth, there were tough calls both ways."

The Seahawks have clearly become the team to beat in the NFC. On Monday, 49ers.com compiled a long list of tweets from current and former Niners congratulating San Francisco on its win. Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice wrote: "Great win today by the #Niners. A huge win!!"

49ers on Twitter The Seahawks have clearly become the team to... Photo-5576970.75748 - seattlepi.com

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CSN Bay Area

Why are we linking to a piece from Comcast Sports Network Bay Area? Because reporter Matt Maiocco declared that the 49ers' letter to fans, instructing them how to cheer for their team Sunday, appeared to work despite all the national ridicule last week. "The 49ers, apparently, have a home-field advantage, too," Maiocco wrote. San Francisco fans were ostensibly quite proud of themselves for creating a "playoff atmosphere" at the 'Stick on Sunday.